Hawkeye Family History
by Sarcasm Angel
Summary: What was Riza's family like before she was born, and when she was young? Spoilers for Chapter 58. Has a little bit of Royai, because I can't resist.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! I've been thinking, and we really don't know much about Riza's background. So I thought I'd write my idea of her family history. I haven't seen Grumman's name revealed anywhere, but if it was and I missed it, feel free to correct me.

As always, I own nothing.

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Andrew Grumman eyed the young man in front of him with interest. The tall, skinny boy looked back apprehensively.

"You seem nervous, Berthold," he said at last.

The man in front of him gave a shrill laugh. "Well, you are an intimidating man, sir."

Grumman waved his hand. "Relax, I don't bite." He adjusted his glasses and asked, "Would you like to continue this discussion over a game of chess? I find it's very good for the nerves."

Berthold Hawkeye offered a small smile. "I'd like that, yes."

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Ten minutes later, the men were engaged in their battle.

"I'm in love with her," Hawkeye said quietly, moving a rook forward.

Grumman's hand paused over his pieces, considering his next move. "Is that so?" he replied simply.

Berthold was sweating bullets. "Yes, of course! She's more important than my own life! She's better than the air I breathe! She-"

The general laughed. "Calm down, I believe you." He moved his queen to take a pawn before going on. "Lizzie does seem particularly fond of you as well," he said coyly. "In fact, I can't remember her showing this much interest in another man," he conceded.

Hawkeye was positively beaming. "Really? That's fantastic! I know I could make her happy."

"Happiness is one thing, but how will you support her?" The older man asked, not taking his eyes off of his opponent.

He awkwardly fiddled with his knight piece. "My parents left me a fair amount after they passed," he explained. "It's nothing extravagant, but it's allowed me to research my alchemy without having to find work in a household. I'm more than willing to find employment to keep her comfortable."

"Ah yes, I've heard you were an alchemist. What is it that you're working on, if I may ask?" Grumman watched as his bishop was captured.

"Fire," Berthold answered after a moment of silence. "I'm want to manipulate fire."

The old man looked at him with surprise. "That's quite a skill there. With something like that under your belt, you could easily become a state alchemist."

Hawkeye shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Yes, I suppose I could." He swallowed hard. "So, have you made a decision?"

General Grumman moved his queen. "Check," he shifted his gaze to his companion's face. "Actually, I believe I have. You have my permission."

Berthold's entire face lit up as he moved to make another move. Their game was then interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. A very pretty young woman with long blond hair entered the room, closely followed by an older lady who was clearly her mother.

"Father, we're back from the market," she said, stopping when she saw the visitor. "Oh, hello Berthold!" she chirped, her face breaking into a wide smile.

Upon hearing his name, he took a deep breath and walked forward to take her hand. "Elizabeth, your father and I have been talking," he began, reaching into his pocket for a small box. "He's given us his blessing," he went on, dropping to one knee. "Lizzie, I love you, more than anything else in this world. I will you marry me?"

The woman smiled through her obvious shock, tears of happiness already forming in her eyes. "Yes! Of course I will."

Mrs. Grumman practically screamed in excitement, immediately leading the couple into the kitchen to discuss wedding plans. "I was beginning to think she'd never find a husband," the woman confided in her soon-to-be son-in-law. "She's almost five years older than I was when we were married, you know." She turned back to her husband, "Are you coming?"

He motioned for them to go ahead. "In a minute, Hannah," he told her as he started to round up the discarded game pieces. He took a quick look at the board before he swept the figures into the box and grinned. Berthold's queen had moved into the perfect position to take his king on the next move.

Chess had always been a good way for Grumman to judge a man's character. Any man who could defeat the great Chessmaster Grumman without him even realizing it was definitely sharp enough for his daughter. Little did he know that over twenty years later, there would be another alchemist with whom he would discuss the future of a different young lady with golden blond hair and deep brown eyes.

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I hope the characters were alright, that's my biggest worry with stuff I write.

I love reviews! They make me a happy person!


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this took so long and that it's so short, I found myself buried under a massive amount of papers and exams to get through in the past month. I promise I won't take another month with the next chapter now that I'm off from school for awhile. So hopefully this can hold everyone over until I can get the next one out.

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Berthold's life was perfect. Deciphering the secrets of flame alchemy was proving to be more of a challenge than he'd thought, but his research fascinated him and kept him busy. He had recently celebrated his second wedding anniversary with the greatest woman he could ever dream of. And to top it all off, Elizabeth was approximately five months pregnant with their first child. Things couldn't get any better.

"I still like Thomas," Lizzie pouted, her long blond hair blowing in the breeze. It was a warm afternoon in November, and the couple had decided to take advantage of the weater and have a picnic in the back yard. Seated on a blanket in the shadow of the large house, the two were discussing names for the baby, the son that both were completely sure was coming.

"But you already said you wanted his name to be Michael," Berthold pointed out to her.

His wife pursed her lips. "Oh, I can't choose between them. They're both perfect for him."

"We should just flip a coin to decide," he joked.

She slapped his arm playfully and stretched. "Today's such a nice day, it's a shame we can't do this more often."

He twirled a lock of her hair between his fingers. "Ah, but then we'd never get the house ready."

After the wedding, they'd moved into the old manor that had been in the Hawkeye family for generations. Lizzie, having been blessed with quite an artistic streak, was estatic to have so many rooms to decorate. However, the crown jewel of the house had yet to be completed: the baby's nursery on the second floor. They'd picked out a jungle theme for the room, and Lizzie was in the process of painting lions, elephants, and other animals on the walls. One major detail was finished though. On the wall opposite the window was a large, flaming sun created in brilliant tones of gold and orange. "It's rather appropriate, don't you think?" she'd commented as she'd panited it. "After all, he'll be learning flame alchemy from you some day."

The sun was setting, and the temperature was starting to drop. Lizzie shivered as he helped her stand up and gathered the blanket.

"We should get inside before you catch a cold."

"I'll be fine. You know it takes more than a few degrees to get me sick" she waved her hand nonchalantly.

Berthold shook his head. "Did I ever mention you remind me of your father when you do that?"

The woman laughed. "Several times, dear."

He smiled at her and leaned in to kiss his wife. "I love you," he murmured. Before he pulled away, he felt a small kick against her stomach and chuckled quietly. "You too, my little alchemist."

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What? No, it's totally a boy and they're not mistaken about the gender!

Like it? Hate it? Review so I can work on it!


	3. Chapter 3

Two chapters in a week? I know, I'm a mad woman! This is the longest yet, so hopefully it makes up some for the long wait for the short one. Enjoy!

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Lizzie smiled faintly as she ran her hand over the rocking chair. With barely three weeks left until the birth, they had finally managed to finish setting up the nursery. She looked over at Berthold, who was trying to put away all the toys her parents had sent for the baby. She heard him groan loudly as one box refused its place on the shelf and tumbled to the ground. She fought back a laugh while he bent down to gather up the fallen items from the floor.

"They bought too much, we'll have to put some of it away," he grunted.

Lizzie agreed. "Yes, I suppose we will." The mother-to-be looked over the toys in the box and pulled a few out. "I don't think he'll be needing these ones for awhile," she said, placing a rubber-tipped bow and arrow set, slingshot, and pop gun onto the nearby changing table. She fished out several stuffed animals and looked around, selecting their new destinations. "Let's see, the bear can go in the bassinet with him, and we'll put the giraffe and the lion in the play pen." She fell silent at the sudden twinge in her belly, stronger than any of the baby's previous movements and lowered herself into the rocking chair.

"Is something wrong?" Concern was already present in his voice as he moved to her side.

She shook her head and waved him off. "I'm fine; he's just kicking a little harder than usual, that's all."

The father-to-be let out a small sigh of relief. "Can I get you anything? Some water?"

He watched his wife think for a moment before answering him. "Could you make me a fresh pot of tea? Some of those spicy Xingese noodles with rice, too? Oh, and would you see if we have any more strawberries from the market?"

Berthold laughed and kissed her forehead. "Anything you want, dearest. Would you like me to bake you a raspberry souffle for dessert while I'm at it?" He turned to leave, chuckling at her oh-so-mature reaction of sticking her tongue out.

Lizzie slowly closed her eyes as she rocked back and forth in the chair, her mind wonderfully blank and her body relaxed for a few precious moments before she felt another strong kick.

"Ow," she said out loud, her eyes opening to look down as her hand rubbed her stomach. "You cut that out, it hurts." She relaxed again and resumed her rocking in silence. Before long the smell of cooking noodles reached her and she smirked at her swollen midsection. "Daddy's making us a great dinner tonight, you know? Trust me, you'll love it when he cooks. You'll have to ask him to make you some of his white tea, it's your great-great grandmother's secret recipe." Her hand migrated to the chair's armrest while she continued speaking. "You'll be happy, won't you? You think I'll make a good mommy, right?" she asked nervously.

Lizzie had never talked to Berthold much about her parenting doubts. She loved him more than anything, but he was so excited and happy about the baby and becoming a father that she just couldn't bring herself to put a damper on it by voicing her concerns. He was convinced that they'd take to it like ducks to water and would have the perfect little family. She knew he was overjoyed to have a the house full of life again after the deaths of his parents nearly ten years ago. He'd been in the north, studying under the illustrious alchemist Silver Steiner when he'd received word that his mother and father had been killed in a train accident on their way to visit an old friend. Berthold had been devastated by the news and retreated back to his empty family home. He'd spent months hidden away, obsessively looking through alchemy books to take his mind off of his troubles. It wasn't until he'd become interested in flame alchemy that he began to show a spark of life again. It had been a year later when he'd come across a beautiful young blond woman in a bookshop and fallen head over heels in love, and the rest was history.

"Lizzie?" The sound of his voice brought her out of her daydream. He walked over, overturning a sturdy box to use as a makeshift table for the food and carefully setting the tray down in front of her before depositing himself on the floor. The hungry woman immediately dug into her plate, undeterred by the multitude of spices. "I don't know how you can eat it so fast," he quipped, gingerly chewing a forkfull of noodles and reaching for his glass of milk to soothe the fire in his mouth.

"It's just that good," she commented back as she picked a plump strawberry from the bowl on the tray and bit into it with a wide grin. "It's not my fault you can't handle your--oh," she winced at the feeling in her stomach.

Berthold was up in a flash. "Are you sure you're alright? Elizabeth!"

Her breath came out in a pained hiss. "He's been restless all day, I'm sure it's nothing." She motioned for him. "Sit back down, I'm alright. Maybe it's too spicy for him too?" she joked.

"Yes, that must be it," he agreed, never taking his eyes off of her.

They finished their meal without incident and he helped her to her feet with the promise that they would finish sorting out the toys later. However the moment they entered their own bedroom Lizzie found herself nearly doubled over in pain, letting out a sharp cry.

Berthold sprung into action, quickly guiding her to the bed with an arm around her shoulders and one hand holding hers. "You're not fine, what can I do?" She held his hand in a vice-like grip the strength of which he'd had no idea she possessed.

"You need to call for Dr. Bernhart right now," she said in a surprisingly calm voice. "I think I'm going into labor."

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I want to thank people who have review me and put my stuff on their favorites lists. Y'all are awesome and you make me feel special.


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